Thursday, September 20

Dredd 3D Review

Dredd 3D

Dir: Pete Travis

Starring: Karl Urban,
Olivia Thirlby,

and Lena Headey

The comic series 2000
AD, which features the stoic, justice wielding Judge Dredd, has been around
since the late 1970’s. The comic spawned the 1995 feature starring Sylvester
Stallone, which was marred by unnecessary comic relief and a forced love
interest. Dredd 3D simplifies the character
of Dredd in the best ways, while focusing on making a well executed, action
packed comic adaptation that will have you wondering where this Judge has been
hiding.

Mega-City One is the future; it’s a vast, decaying city that
finds humanity living in 200-floor community structures. Crime is rampant and
run by gangs fighting to gain any footing in the communities. Drugs are
commonplace, specifically the new street drug called Slo-mo that is being
manufactured by crime queen Ma-Ma (Lena Headey). Justice has been deputized to Street
Judges, highly trained law enforcers who carry multi-arsenal handguns. Their
purpose is simply an all-in-one judge, jury, and executioner.

The toughest of these judges is Dredd (Karl Urban). With a
stern, law above anything else mentality, Dredd is a formidable force of power
and influence. These characteristics make him a perfect choice to conduct a
field assessment exam for recruit Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a young woman who
doesn’t quit meet par on paper but has other valuable skills. Their first
assignment has them investigating a triple homicide in one of Mega-City One’s
most dangerous complexes, which just happens to be inhabited by Ma-Ma’s entire
gang.

Character is a big part of this films success. Urban’s role
as Dredd doesn’t require much but he makes the most of every scene. His tough
demeanor, rigid posture, and near monotone delivery is structured throughout. This
allows Urban to remain threatening yet permits moments of comic brevity, a nice
touch. Lena Headey is also good as Ma-Ma in the same reserved way as Dredd; her
serenely sadistic delivery allows for some nice verbal abuse.Olivia Thirlby shoulders the weight of the
drama, and unfortunately it’s met with mixed results. At times her portrayal is
used nicely to accompany Dredd’s deadpan style, but other times, specifically
during moments of action, it’s forced and unnatural.

The narrative isn’t great, but it doesn’t pretend to be.
It’s understood that Dredd 3D is
first an action film, and it doesn’t disappoint on that end. Ultimately what
will hurt the story is the fact that it’s too similar to The Raid, one of the best action films I’ve seen in a long time.
However, there are some really ingenious aspects that the film implements too,
most notably the use of slow motion capture actions scenes; graphic, vicious,
and undeniably cool. The composition of the grim and grey outside world
reflects the turmoil inside the apartment complex. This environment seems like
a limitation of space in an action film, but it actually takes on a life of
its’ own and becomes an interesting atmosphere for conflict.

The fact that Dredd doesn’t take his helmet off once proves
that the filmmakers wanted to remain authentic to the source material and
create a film that fans of the iconic Judge would love. To that extent Dredd 3D has exceeded expectation, but
it’s also a fun film that’s easy to get lost in too.